Fanslau likely gets ax if Sullivan County passes law

MONTICELLO — The bid to oust Sullivan County Manager David Fanslau advanced Thursday when a bipartisan group of legislators unexpectedly introduced a local law that would amend the county charter so that five legislators instead of six are needed to remove the county manager. Democratic Legislators Cora Edwards and Cind...

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By Leonard Sparks

recordonline.com

By Leonard Sparks

Posted Jan. 12, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Leonard Sparks
Posted Jan. 12, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

MONTICELLO — The bid to oust Sullivan County Manager David Fanslau advanced Thursday when a bipartisan group of legislators unexpectedly introduced a local law that would amend the county charter so that five legislators instead of six are needed to remove the county manager. Democratic Legislators Cora Edwards and Cindy Gieger joined Republicans Alan Sorensen and Kitty Vetter in introducing the proposed law at a meeting of the Legislature's Agriculture and Sustainability Policy Committee.

Each has joined with Legislature Vice Chairman Gene Benson in a campaign to replace Fanslau. Among their complaints is that the county manager provides information to some legislators while ignoring requests from others.

"If some people are saying they're given the information they need, obviously he (Fanslau) has that capacity to give that information," Edwards said Friday. "We want a government that works for all of us, not just some of us."

Edwards, Gieger, Sorensen and Vetter also voted to approve a resolution setting a Feb. 21 public hearing for the law. That resolution is expected to come before the full Legislature for approval on Jan. 24.

The lone dissenting committee vote came from Legislator Jonathan Rouis, a Fanslau supporter who has instead called for the county manager to receive a new two-year contract while Sullivan switches to a county executive form of government.

Rouis criticized the fact that the issue was not on the committee's posted agenda. He called the handling of Fanslau's status by the five legislators "ludicrous" as well as "vindictive and mean-spirited."

"To me it shows the level of the kind of people that you're dealing with here," said Rouis, who is planning to introduce a resolution empaneling a committee to examine the county-executive process. "They're talking about the level of transparency and getting information, and then they turn around and do this."

The fate of Fanslau has reached a deadlock, even though a five-member majority of the Legislature supports a change. Under a 2007 charter revision, six members of the nine-member Legislature are needed to "appoint, suspend or remove the County Manager."

Even though Fanslau's contract expired on Dec. 31, the five votes are not enough to remove him, according to an opinion by County Attorney Sam Yasgur.

Yasgur's opinion also says the expired contract requires the county to pay Fanslau 75 percent of his salary — currently $144,837 — if he is fired without cause before Jan. 1 2015.

The proposed local law also eliminates the acting county-manager position and requires the Legislature to appoint an interim manager to temporarily fill a vacancy in the county manager's seat. It also changes the filing deadline for the tentative budget from Nov. 15 to Oct. 1.

Changing the removal process for the county manager would restore the "original intent" of the county charter, Sorensen said.